Mealtimes as a family are important.  It helps you connect, teach, relate, understand, regroup, rest, refresh, encourage, and be nourished physically, spiritually and emotionally as a family.  It takes lots of effort to make it happen, doesn’t it?  So while you’ve got everyone there, let’s make the most of it!!

Last Sunday night at church my husband finished a series on the home.  He ended the message by giving suggestions and taking responses from the congregation about how to make the most of suppertime and after the meal-time.  Here’s the list I compiled in my notebook.  These are great ideas!

1. Create conversation.
   1. Talk about God’s Word
   2. Talk about answered prayer
   3. Talk about what God is doing in your life!
2. Play a board game afterward.
3. Read a book together.  You could use missionary biographies, fictional fun books, or devotional books.
4. Take a family walk in the neighborhood.
5. Call meal time a “No Phone Zone.”  No phones at the table.
6. Lay a puzzle out on the cleared table and assemble it together.
7. Walk the dog as a family.
8. Eat in the dining room with cloth napkins, candles and a centerpiece.  Make it happen at a regular time and shoot for 5 x’s a week.
9. Occasionally eat together at a “fancy” restaurant so you can give your children the experience and training (and also the treat!) of a nicer place out.  Your preparations at home will have them ready and you won’t have to “sweat it out!”
10. Sing after the meal.

I love having my family gathered around the dinner table – even if it’s just my husband and me!  It’s a special time of day and we need to do all we can to maximize that time!

Tell me:  What do you do to make the most of mealtime?

Lovingly,